Method of making shoes



A. BATES.

METHOD OF MAKING SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

/4/ VE/V 727/ 7- A. BATES.

METHOD OF MAKING SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1920- Patented June 1 3, 1922.

2 SHEETS- SHEET 2.

ARTHUR BATES, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGINQE, TD UNITED SHOE MACHINERYCORPORATIQN, OF EATER/SON, NEW A CORPORAJIION 01? NEW JERSEY.

METHOD 9 IVJIAKING STEIOES.

To aZZ whom it may concer Be it known that I, ARTHUR BATES, a subject ofthe King oi England, residing at Leicester, Leicestershire, England,have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Making Shoes, 01 whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification, like reference characters 011 the drawingsindicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to methods of making shoes, the presentapplication being a division of my earlier application, Serial No.100,950, filed on May 31, 1916. An object of the invention is to securebetter results than heretofore in the shaping of upper materials, hereingenerally termed the upper over a last or other shoe form. While theinvention is herein particularly illustrated in its application toveldtschoen or stitch-down work, it will be evident that in many of itsaspects it is not limited to such work but is generally applicable tothe manufacture oi shoes of various types.

in one important aspect, the invention has particularly in view theshaping of an upper smoothly and free from wrinkles round the end of ashoe form by uniform inwardly directed pressure such asniay be applied,

"for example, by a flexible loop member, herelll conveniently termed awiper, or

other member adapted to conform itself to the contour of the shoe, withthe margin of the upper so controlled as to increase the tighteninge'l'lect oi the wiper and tomaintain the upper continuously in anunwrinkled condition throughout the upper shaping operation. Inaccordance with the manner herein illustrated oi practicing the method,the margin oi the upper is clamped on a continuous line round the end oithe form under such control as to give up stock at points where thetension produced by the indrawing pull oi the wiper tends to becomeexcessive, thus assisting in equalizing the tension and in maintainingthe pressure of the wiper uniform on the dili'erentportions oi the upperwhich it engages. l Vith the margin oil the upper thus clamped insn'iooth and unwrinkled condition and held yieldinggly against the pulloi the self-com "forming wiper in such manner as substantially toequalize the tension and pressure all round the end 01 the form, theupper is Specification of Letters Patent. P m t d J n 13,1922

Original application filed May 31, 1916, Eerial No. 100,950. Divided andthis her 12, 1920. Serial No. 4233,63t).

application filed Novemdrawn tightly inward to the contour of the termwith no opportunity afforded for the wrinkling oi? the upper as it isworked into its final shape. In the illustrated practice of the methodthe margin of the upper is clamped in outspread condition round the endoi the form, which assists in holding it free from wrinkles; and in themaking of stitch-down shoes it is contemplated that the margin will thusbe shaped or molded to produce an out-turned sole-attaching flangecharacteristic of this type of shoe.

in a further aspect, the invention has in view, the stretching andshaping of the upper over the top of theform with the margin under suchcontrol as to give up stock round the end of the iorm at points ofexcessive tension and thereby substantially to equalize the tensionoverthe high and low parts of the contour of the form. The illustratedmanner oi practicing this part of the invention consists in pulling andstretching the upper heightwise of the form while clamping the marginyieldingly on a substantially continuous line round the end oi the form,and independently gripping portions of the margin "farther rearwardlyalong the sides oi the :lorn'i and drawingthe upper forwardly at thesides as well as at the end o'l the torin while pulling it heightwise olthe :iiorm. In this manner the strains on the difi erent portions of theupper round the end oi the form are substantially equalized irrespectiveoi the contour oi the term and the entire end portion oi the upper issubjected also to foredrawing tension without relative displacement ofparts at the and and the sides such as might tend to distort the lineoil the tip seam'where the.

shoe provided with a tip seam. When this part oi the invention iscombined in practice with the shaping of the upper round the end oi theform in the manner hereinbefore set forth, the torepart oi the upper iscompletely shaped to the contour'of the form without substantialdifferences in the strains applied at different parts, such as mightread to loss of shape in the wear of the shoe, and without wrinkles inthe parts of the shoe which have been found heretotore particu arlydifiicult to shape in a smooth and satisfactory manner.

in a further aspect of the invention it is contemplated that after theupper has been shaped, as by drawing it to the contour of the form undersuch control as hereinbefore set forth, it will be held in shape by theapplication of retaining means, for example by applying a flexiblebinder round the end of the shoe and anchoring it to the shoe. Institch-down work the binder may conveniently lie in the crease at theinner boundary of the out-turned flange of the upper and will preferablyremain in place until after the flange has been secured to a sole orinsole. The binder may be anchored in any suitable way, for example byfastening it to the upper at the opposite sides of the shoe. The use ofa binder round the toe of a stitch-down shoe to assist in holding theupper in shape prior to the sewing operation is new as far as 1 amadvised, and I desire to protect it irrespective of the particularmanner of shaping the upper.

lVhile the invention isapplicable to the shaping of uppers over lastswhichremain in place while subsequent manufacturing operations areperformed, the invention has further in view the use of some or all ofthe method steps hereinabove set forth in a strictly molding operationin which the u per is withdrawn from the mold and is sub sequentlyapplied to a last for later operations. In such procedure the upper willbe shaped, for example, over a metal form or mold correspondinggenerally in size and shape to a portion at least of the last to besubsequently used. In such a' molding operation the binder may beanchored to the upper itself and will assist in retaining the upper inmolded shape while it is removed from the form and mounted on its last.While the invention thus has in contemplation both what is commonlyknown as lasting and what is more generally understood as molding, theterm form is herein used in a generic sense as applicable to a last orequivalent member over which the upper is shaped, except where thecenter; requires a more limited interpretation of the term as distinctfrom what is commonly understood as the last.

The novel method of this invention, in the above mentioned and otheraspects, will now be more particularly set forth by reference to theaccompanying drawings which illustrate the various steps and show oneform of apparatus by the aid of which the method may be practiced, suchapparatus being more fully shown and described in my prior applicationof which this is adivision.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating thetreatment of a shoe, in accordance withone manner of practicing the method, by the aid of the machine shown anddescribed in said, prior ap plication, the machine being shown in sideelevation with parts in section;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view illussupport 1 for a shoe form orlast, mounted 1 to swing upwardly about a fixed pivot 2 relatively tomeans which grips and clamps the margin of the upper, the support 1being engaged and operated by a plunger 1 pivoted on the left hand endof a lever 5 which is mounted 'on a pivot 6 and has its right hand endforked and connected by links 8 to a vertically movable cross-head 9.Slidable lengthwise in the cross-head 9 is a rod 10 provided with anabutment 12 for engaging the cross-head to move it downwardly, the rod10 being adjustably connected with a lower cross-head 15 which is inturn connected by links 16 to a link 18 operated by an eccentric 20- ona power shaft 21. This construction affords provision for initialdownward movement of the rod 10 relatively to the cross-head 9 prior tothe engagement of the abutment 12 with said cross-head in. order topermit the side grippers and the upper clamping means, which are also0perated by the rod 10 as will be described, to seize and clamp theupper before the sup port 1 is moved to raise the shoe form.

F or clamping the margin of the upper in outspread condition round thetoe two fiat plates and 31 having recesses of substantially U-shape areprovided, the plate 30 being rigidly mounted and the plate 31. beingsupported loosely on a plunger 35 between a shoulder of which and acollar 36 the plate is confined. The plate 31 is overlaid by a cap 38havinga convex top face fitting a concave lower face of the collar 36 sothat the plate may tip to adjust itself to the work. A spring isconfined between the shoulder on the plunger 35 and a shoulder on thecap 88 to maintain the curved faces in contact, and a pin 37 serves toguide the plate 31 and to limit its tipping movement.

The upper plate 31 is moved downwardly to clamp the margin of the upperby a lever 10 connected to the plunger 35 and fulcrumed at its righthand end to a post 12. The rod 10 extends loosely through the lever l0and above the lever carries a spring through which the upper clampingpressure is applied. second and weaker spring 46 is confined between thelever and the frame, and the rod has collars at? and 18 which in themovements of the rod up and down act respectively to relieve the leverof the pressure of the springs and 46. It will be understood that theupper plate 31 is moved through these connections yieldingly to clampingposition while the rod 10 is moving relatively to the cross-head 9 andbefore the abutment 12 becomes effective to raise the support 1.

For pulling the upper at opposite sides at the rear of the toe, themachine has side grip pers, Fig. 2, arranged to engage the upper atopposite sides of the form to pull the upper transversely and forwardlyat the rear of the toe clamping plates while the latter are acting topull the upper heightwis'e and lengthwise of the form. These gripperseach comprise an inner jaw formed on a tu bular bar which is verticallymovable in a guide 52 and is normally upheld by a spring 54-, and anouter jaw 55 pivotedto the inner j aw and connected by a link to anoperating rod 56. The rod 56 is movable in the bar 50 and in the guid 52through a-link connection with a cross bar 60 which is pivotally mountedon a horizontal bar 62 to constitute an equalizer between the sidegrippers and to be manually operated to shift the upper transversely ofthe form. The bar 62 is car- .ried by a vertically movable rod 65 whichis moved downward yieldingly through a spring 66 by means of a lever 70which is fulcrumed on the frame and connected to the link 18.

The side gripper guides 52 are pivotally supported on a slide'72 and areadjustably connected together by a right and left threaded rod 73 topermit them to be spaced \mriably'for different widths of shoes. Theslide 72 is mounted on a stationary bar 74 extending lengthwise of theshoe and is moved along said bar to impart foredrawing movement to theside grippers through a rod 75 which is also adjustable to position thegrippers for different lengths of shoes. Operative movement is impartedto the rod 75 by a lever which is fulcrumed on a short link 78 on theframe and is connected by a link '79 to a lever 82 fulcrumed on the bar74, the lower end of this lever being connected by a. link 83 to theright hand end of the vertically movable bar 62. It will thus be evidentthat when the bar 62 is moved downwardly for operating the side grippersto pull the upper the lever 82 is operated by the link 83 to swing thelever 80 in a direction for advancing the side grippers along the bar 7ltoward. the toe end of the shoe.

For drawing the upper round the toe into conformity to the lateralperiphery of the form a wire loop wiper, or like flexible wiper, 85extends round the end of the shoe and is attached at its ends to theupper forked end of the lever 80. The flexible wiper is thus operated toperform its func tion co-ordinately with the relativ movements of theform and the upper clan'iping means and the grippers to stretch theupper and draw it over the form.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that when the last orform, with or without an insole on its tread face, is 1nounted on thesupport 1 with the margin of the upper between the side gripper jaws andoutspread round the toe between the clamping plates, the first operationis to close the grippers and to clamp the margin of the upper round thetoe, whereupon the support 1 is swung upwardly and backwardly to causethe grippers and the clamping means to pull the upper heightwise andforwardly of the form, downward pulling movement and foredrawingmovement being imparted to the side grippers at the same time throughthe connections described. It will be understood that the flexible wiper85 is sufficiently loose at the start to prevent it from having anysubstantial drawing action. on the upper until after the latter has beenpulled to some extent. During the upper pulling operation and during therearward drawing action of the wiper 85 the yieldable clamping meanspermits the margin of the upper to slip at any point where an excess oftension is applied and this serves to equalize the strains over the highand low parts of the form in the pulling of the upper heightwise andforwardly of the form and also to equalize the pressure of the flexiblewiper on the different portions of the upper in the operation of drawingit inwardly to the contour ofthe form. As the flexible loop wiper 85 ispulled. rearwardly it adapts itself at all points to the contour of thework and thus brings uniform pressure to bear at the different pointswhile drawing the upper closely and uniformly to the contour of theform. In stitch-down work the length and the extent of movement of theflexible wiper will be so determined as to shape the upper as requiredwith a crease extending along the edge of the shoe bottom at the innerboundary of the out-turned flange, and in this class of work also theupper clamping means will serve to shape the margin of the upper asrequired to produce the out-turned flange. It will be further evidentthat by clamping the margin of the upper continuously round the toe fromone side to the other in an outspread condition and by using a flexiblewiper to draw the upper into lasted position while the margin is thuscontrolled by the clamping means and permitted to slip at any pointwhere an excess of tension is produced, insurance is afforded againstthe formation of objectionable wrinkles along the edge of the shoebottom and the upper is shaped smoothly and uniformly to the contour ofthe form at all points round the toe.

After the upper has been shaped to the form in' th manner abovedescribed, it is contemplated that the machine will come to a stop. Asuitable retaining means, such as a toe binder wire, may then be appliedin the crease formed by the flexible wiper and anchored at its ends inany suitable manner. ll hen the machine is again started the parts arereturned to their starting position and the shoe is released with theupper held in shape round the toe by the binder.

If desired, and as herein illustrated, the upper is prepared fortreatment above described by first molding the heel portion of the uppermaterials as a special molding operation such as described in priorUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,156,697, and when this step ofmolding the heel seat is included the shoe is ready for the shoebottoming operations, with the aid sometimes of more or less shanklasting. In the mak; ing of stitch-down shoes the binder applied roundthe toe will preferably remain in place to assist inholding the upper inthe required shape until after the out-turned flange of the upper hasbeen sewed to a sole or insole.

It is further contemplated, in one use of the method oi this invention,that instead of shaping the upper orer form. such as a last, which is toremain in the shoe until the manufacturing operations have beencompleted, the last may be replaced by a mold which may or may not fillthe entire shoe, and the operations herein described w ill then. havemore particularly the character of what is commonly understood asmolding. in such use of the mold the toe binder inav be fastened to theupper itself, as by inserting its ends through small holes formed in theout-turned margin o i? the up per and bending the ends under themarginal flange to retain the binder in place, Alter the moldingoperation the upper will be removed iliiOill the form and the binderwill assist in holding it in shape. as indicated in Fig. l. Subsequentlythe upper will be mounted on a last and sewed, for example, to aninsole, as illustrated. in Fig. 5. ently removed from the shoe bypulling its ends out of? the holes in the flange.

Having explained the nature of the invention and set forth fully how itmay be practiced, what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is 1.. That improvement in methods of makingshoes which consists in mounting an upper on a shoe form, holding theupper free from wrinkles round the end of the form, and while holding itfree from wrinkles drawing it inwardly round the end of the form by theaid of a flexible-wiper conformable at all points to the contour of theshoe.

2. That improvement in methods of malt- The wire binder may thenv beconveni ing shoes which consists in mounting an upper on a shoe form,clamping the margin of the upper outspread on a substantially continuousline round the end of the form and holding the upper free from wrinkles,and while the upper is thus clamped and controlled drawing it inwardlyround the end. of the form by the aid of a flexible loop wiperconformable at all points to the contour of the shoe.

3. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form, clamping or gripping the margin of theupper round the end of the form, and then drawing the upper inwardlyround the end of the form by aid of aflexible wiper while giving upstock from the clamped margin at any pointor points where an excess oftension is produced by the indrawing pull of the wiper.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an up per on a shoe form, clamping or gripping the margin ofthe upper round the end of the form, and then, while permitting theclamped margin of the upper to slip at any point or points where anexcess of pulling tension is applied, pulling and stretching the uppersubstantially heightwise of the form and drawing it inwardly round theend of the form by the aid of a flexible wiper conformable at all pointsto the contour of. the shoe.

5. That improvement in methods of malting. shoeswhich consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form, clamping the man gin of the upper on asubstantially continuous line round the end of the form and pulling itover the top and outwardly from the end of the form while giving upstock from the clainpedmargin at points where an excess of tension isapplied, and while the upper is thus clamped pulling it inwardly to thecontour of the form by the aid of a flexible wiper conformable at allpoints to the contour of the shoe.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form, clamping the margin oi" the upperoutspread on a sub stantially continuous line round the end of the formand holding the upper free from wrinkles, and with the upper thusclamped and controlled pulling it heightwise of the form and by the aidof a flexible loop wiper also drawing it inwardly to the con tour of theform while giving up stock from the clamped margin at points where anexcess of tension is applied.

7. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form, clamping the margin oi the upper roundthe end of the form and pulling it heightwise of the form while givingup stock from the clamped margin at points where an excess of tension isapplied, and while increasing the pulling strain on the upper heightwiseof the form drawing it inwardly round the end of the form by the aid ofa flexible loop wiper conformable at all points to the contour of theshoe.

8. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form clamping the margin of the upper freefrom wrinkles on a substantially continuous line round the end of theform and pulling it heightwise of the form, and drawings the upperinwardly round the end of the form by the aid of a flexible loop" wiperwhile giving up stock from the clamped margin at points where an excessof, tension is applied in drawing the upper inwardly. I

9. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form, clamping the mar gin of the upperoutspread on a substantially continuous line round the toe end of theform and independently gripping portions of the margin fartherrearwardly at the sides of the forepart, pulling the upper heightwise ofthe form while it is thus clamped and gripped at the toe and the sides,and during the pulling of the upper giving up stock from the clampedmargin round the toe at any point or points where excessive tension isapplied to shape the upper over the high and low portions of the contourof the form under substantially uniform tension.

10. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form clamping themargin of the upper on asubstantially continuous line round the toe end of the form andindependently gripping portions of the margin farther rearwardly at thesides of the forepart and then pulling the upper heightwise of the formand also forwardly round the toe and at the sides, and during thepulling of the upper giving up stock from the clamped margin round thetoe at any point or points where an excess of pulling tension is appliedto equalize the tension over difierent portions of the con tour of theform.

11. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inmounting an upper on a shoe form clamping the margin of the upper roundthe toe end of the form and also gripping the margin at opposite sidesof the ball of the shoe and pulling the upper both heightwise of theform and forwardly at the toe and the sides, and while the upper is heldunder tension at the toe and the sides working it inwardly to thecontour of the form on a continuous line round the toe'.

12. That improvement in methods of ing stitch-down shoes which consistsin making shoes which consists in mounting an upper on a form, clampingthe margin of the upper on a substantially continuous line round the endof the form and holding the upper free from wrinkles, and while theupper is thus clamped and controlled drawing it inwardly round the endof the form by the aid of a flexible loop wiper adapted to accommodateitself automatically at all points to the contour of the shoe, and thenapplying a binder roundthe end of the shoe and removing the flexiblewiper for use on another shoe.

13. That improvement in methods of mak- 8O mounting an upper on a form,clamping the margin of the upper out-turned on a substantiallycontinuous line round the toe end of the form, and then drawing theupper inwardly to the contour of the form by theaid of a flexible wiperwhile holding the margin clamped and shaping it to produce an outturnedflange adapted to be secured to the sole or insole of the shoe.

'14. That improvement in methods of making stitch-down shoes whichconsists in mounting an upper on a form, clamping the margin of theupper outturned on a substan tially continuous line round the toe end ofthe form, and then pulling the upper heightwise of the form and by theaid of a flexible loop wiper drawing it inwardly to the contour of theform while giving up stock from the clamped margin at points of excessive tension and shaping the margin to produce an outturned flangeadapted to be se-v cured to the sole or insole of the shoe.

15. That improvement in methods of making stitch-down shoes whichconsists in molding the heel portion of an upper to produce an inturnedheel seat flange, mounting the upper on a form, clamping the margin ofthe forepart of the upper outspread in a plane substantially parallel tothe plane which the outturned flange ofthe upper is to occupy in thecompleted shoe, and while the upper is thus clamped pulling itheightwise and lengthwise of the form and drawing or wiping it inwardlyto the edge of the form round the toe and confining it in that relationto the form.

16. That improvement in methods of making stitch-down shoes whichconsists in pulling and stretching an upper over the top face of a formand shaping the margin of the upper to produce outturned sole attachingflange, and drawing the upper to the edge of the form round the toe andbinding it against outward movement away from the edge of the form.

17. That improvement in methods of making stitch-down shoes whichconsists in shaping an upper over a form and molding the margin of theupper to produce an outturned sole attaching flange, applying a binder130 round the end of the form to hold the upper in shape, and securingthe outturned flange of the upper to a sole While the binder remains inposition to hold the upper.

18. That improvement in methods of making stitch-down Shoes Whichconsists in pulling an upper over a form at the forepart and shaping themargin of the upper to produce an out-turned sole attaching flange, ap-

plying a binder round the toe to hold the round the toe and fastening itto the upper to hold the upper in molded shape, removing the upper fromthe form and mounting it on a last While the binder remains in positionto hold the upper in shape, and subsequently securing the upper to asole or insole.

20. That in iprovement in methods of n1aking stitch-down shoes whichconsists in molding an upper over a form to shape it to the contour ofthe form and to produce an outturned sole attaching flange, applying abinder round the end of the upper, and fastening it to the upper alone,removing the upper from the form and mounting it on a last, and thensecuring the outturned flange of the upper to a sole or insole.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' ARTHUR BATES.

